This invention relates to a fastener for fastening a matched pair of clothing together, such as shoes, socks, gloves, a two-piece swimming costume or the like. In correspondence with the two pieces of the pair of clothing, the fastener comprises a first securing part to be secured to one piece of clothing, and a second securing part to be secured to the other piece of clothing.
The first securing part includes a first fastening element which is provided in a center region of the first securing part and has at least one fastening projection. The second securing part includes a second fastening element which is provided in a center region of the second securing part and has at least one opening for receiving the respective fastening projection of the first fastening element so as to interconnect the first and second securing parts and fasten them to one another.
There are also first and second securing surfaces to be connected each to one piece of clothing, and which protrude away from the respective center regions of the first and second securing parts. Each one of the securing surfaces includes at least one strip of textile material extending beyond the respective center region of said first and second securing means.
The invention relates also to a two-piece clothing which comprises a fastener of the type described.
Various constructions of this type of releasable fasteners have already been suggested. They are used to prevent a situation where one piece is lost, particularly when washing the two-piece clothing, so that the remaining part can no longer be used. For example, the documents PCT No. WO 96/26656 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,855, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, show strips of Velcro fasteners which may be connected to a relatively large area of a sock so as to adhere to it in a relatively good way, but tend to felt when being washed. Practically, it is then hardly possible to wash the clothing provided with such a fastener together with other clothing, because the risk exists that textile pieces which are washed in common become mutually felted and cannot be separated afterwards from one another. In addition, Velcro fasteners are relatively hard and inflexible, thus causing a disagreeable feeling when wearing clothing provided with them.
Document PCT No. WO 97/19216, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, shows a different type of a fastener in which each individual component is in two-part form itself. The two sub-parts are then interconnected and secured to the piece of clothing or sock by a single pin penetrating the sock from its interior to its exterior. One disadvantage of such a fastener is that the whole fastener comprises four parts which is expensive and is relatively thick. This can cause a disagreeable feeling of pressure when wearing clothing with such a fastener. Moreover, the fastener is connected to the sock by a relatively thin pin only which penetrates the sock. In this way, the region of the sock to which the fastener is connected is subjected to considerable stress due to movements in a washing machine, resulting in a drawn and shabby spot around the fastener.
These particularities and difficulties are clearly pointed out in document PCT No. WO 97/38596, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, which suggests to connect such a fastener only to socks or stockings of a certain minimum mesh density. While part of the fastener components shown in this PCT No. WO 97/38596 are based on the same principle as applied also in the above-mentioned PCT No. WO 97/19216, therefore involving the same drawbacks, it is also suggested to sew some ribbon provided with a part of a fastener onto each sock. Of course, this is most problematic both when wearing the sock and when washing it. Another suggestion uses a similar design as used for press fasteners, i.e. a dish-like outer portion surrounding a center portion where the outer portion is provided with sewing holes. Such press fasteners, however, can only have a limited size, and the dish-like outer portion can have a small diameter. If the outer portion were too large, it would constitute an inflexible, hard and pressing part on the piece of clothing. Ordinarily it will be relative small, which results in that fastening stress is concentrated to a relative small portion of the clothing which, in turn, has easily the consequence of being torn off, or the clothing is locally elongated or pulled out, especially if the clothing is of a knitted fabric.
A strip of fabric for sewing the fastener onto a sock is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,413, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, there is no suggestion how to solve the problem of connecting both the strip of fabric and the center portion of the respective fastener component to the pieces of clothing. Normally, it would require two individual procedures of interconnecting them, for example, by sewing the respective fastener component to the textile material and then to sew the textile strip onto the respective sock. This, of course, is expensive and arduous.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to form a fastener of the type described in such a way that it can be connected to the respective piece of clothing at less expenses and in a less arduous manner.
This object is achieved according to the invention where a fastener is used which comprises at least one fastening projection (as it is the case with one component of a press fastener, but could, in principle, also be embodied with several projections), and that the textile material has a cut-out which allows the at least one projection to penetrate. In this way, the respective fastener component is retained by the textile material which is the only part which needs a connection to the piece of clothing. The projection of one fastener component projects out of the cut-off and is inserted into the opening of the other fastener component through a corresponding cut-out of the textile material sewed to the other piece of clothing.
However, if according to the invention at least one projection is provided, this center region is better retained within the cut-out of the textile material. The elongated securing surface(s) increase the securing area of the fastener to the respective piece of clothing so that any stress which may act onto the place of connection will exert less force to it.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a two-piece clothing has the above-mentioned fastener sewed to it so that both the textile material and the center region of the fastener are sewed onto the piece of clothing by a single sewed seam.